Boats starting to fill Black River — including Whitehawk, Earth Voyager

Liz Shepard
Times Herald

Boats are making their way into Port Huron for Saturday's Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race. 

Harbormaster Mike Davenport said by Wednesday afternoon, about 60 boats have made the city their temporary home, including the 60-foot trimaran Earth Voyager and the 105-foot custom ketch, Whitehawk. 

The Earth Voyager made it to the island is less than 15 hours in the 2008 race. The trimaran is docked in the Black River near the harbormaster's office. 

The division III multihull Earth Voyager sails past River Street Marina in the rain Tuesday afternoon, July 16, 2019. Temperatures for Boat Week are expected to rise, hitting 93 degrees by Friday and more rain possible Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Further east, at Desmond Marina sits Whitehawk. 

Whitehawk was purchased this spring by Peter Thornton of Key Largo, Florida, who also owns homes in Bay Harbor and Detroit. 

Officials said it is the largest boat to ever take on the race. 

Thornton isn't new to the race to Mackinac Island. He's competed in the race at least 28 times and set the elapsed time monohull record in the 2017 Cove Island Court with his Il Monstro. He has since donated the boat to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Sailing Foundation. 

The Whitehawk is moored along the Black River in Port Huron Wednesday, July 17, 2019. The Whitehawk is a 105-foot wooden ship, and is the longest boat to ever participate in the Port Huron-to-Mackinac race.

“A yacht like Whitehawk has never been on the Great Lakes,” Thornton said in a statement shortly after closing his purchase in mid-May, “and my desire is to show her off in Chicago and Detroit for the Mackinac Races. She is a magnificent machine that should be viewed by as many people as possible.”

The ship is quite different from II Mostro. Below deck, Whitehawk has three over-sized staterooms, a 10-sided Mandala skylight, a fireplace and a teak bathtub. 

“Going from a complete carbon racing machine like Il Mostro to a wooden cruising yacht like Whitehawk will be quite a transition,” Thornton said in the statement. “We’ll be mixed in with boats like the TP52s, and they’ll be running away from us, but that’s okay.”

The Il Mostro leads the Class A Division 1 race away from the starting line at the start of a race Saturday, July 14, 2018, during the Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race on Lake Huron.

Davenport said he expects another 100 boats to make their way into the city between Wednesday and Friday afternoon. 

Boat Week 

  • The fun kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with the Rotary International Day Parade. The theme for this year's parade is "Space," to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing
  • Operation Transformation's Family Night runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday near the Black River and 10th Street Bridge.
  • Take a spin on a variety of rides Wednesday through Saturday at the Maple Leaf Amusements' carnival in the north McMorran parking lot. Pre-sale vouchers are available at the McMorran box office for $18. They will be $25 at the carnival. Hours: Wednesday, 3 to 10 p.m.; Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m.; Friday, noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.
  • Watch the parade of boats set out for the Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race Saturday morning.